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The F1 turbo-hybrid era has witnessed miracles for some, as well as devastating heartbreaks for others. With significant new changes introduced in 2014, this new era of F1 has brought in exhilarating wheel-to-wheel battles. Mercedes have dominated the entire turbo-hybrid era, having clinched their eighth championship victory in 2021. With a new set of new technical regulations coming up next season, there is likely to be a mix-up, and fans are set to expect some unexpected battles.
Here are the 3 most heartbreaking races of the F1 turbo-hybrid era
#3 Charles Leclerc: Bahrain Grand Prix, 2019
Charles Leclerc, in his very second race with Ferrari, had possibly the most devastating time of his F1 career so far at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix. Leclerc became the youngest ever pole-sitter in F1 with his maiden pole position in Saturday's qualifying session. The 24-year-old started the race from the front row ahead of then team-mate Sebastian Vettel. The Monégasque driver did not have the most impressive start and lost positions, finding himself in third. He, however, made up for a poor start by flying past Valtteri Bottas and Vettel to take the lead.
While it seemed like the maiden victory was well within the reach of the young driver, calamity struck on lap 46 of the 57-lap race. With a mere 11 laps to go, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc suffered a mechanical issue in the turbo energy recovery system causing his pace to fall significantly. Lewis Hamilton comfortably took the lead on lap 48 as Leclerc painfully watched the victory slip through his fingers. By lap 54 the second Mercedes went past the Ferrari. Leclerc managed to hold on and finished in third, marking his maiden F1 podium.
#2 Lando Norris: Russian Grand Prix, 2021
Lando Norris has had the most impressive season of his F1 career so far. He has proven himself to be one of the most exciting young talents in the sport who has the potential to be fighting for the championship title. The 2021 Russian Grand Prix was arguably the best race the Briton has ever driven but also happens to mark the biggest heartbreak for the McLaren driver. In what seemed almost like a pattern in retrospect, Norris too took his maiden pole position with a solid qualifying session on Saturday and was set to clinch his maiden victory in Sochi.
Norris, too, did not have the best start, having lost the lead to former team-mate Carlos Sainz on the opening lap. The Briton, however, took the lead back from Sainz on lap 13 and continued to drive a phenomenal race. As weather conditions started to change and there was increasing rainfall, most drivers chose to switch from slicks to intermediates. Norris could almost taste the victory champagne and refused orders to pit in fear of losing the lead to Hamilton. The Mercedes driver, too, resisted orders to switch tires but chose to pit anyway, a decision that truly paid off in the end. By lap 47, the McLaren of Lando Norris was slipping and sliding all over the track. The Briton then heartbreakingly went off on lap 53 with two laps to go, coming home in seventh.
#1 Sebastian Vettel: German Grand Prix, 2018
Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has seen his fair share of devastation in racing, but the 2018 German Grand Prix takes the cake. If there's anything worse than losing a race from pole position, it is losing one in your home country.
Chaos struck when it started pouring heavily, and the German went off at the Sachs Kurve hairpin of the Hockenheim Circuit on lap 52. The Ferrari driver completely lost control of his car and found himself charging towards the barriers in front of thousands of his home fans. Vettel was visibly frustrated, punching his steering wheel as he realized that this was an incident that significantly influenced his title prospects. His championship rival Lewis Hamilton managed to make it up from P14 to take the race win, making it understandably worse for the German.
